Extracts from an article by Rod Atrill

"In the early days, New Quay was a fishing and smuggling port. Later, a burgeoning shipbuilding industry developed, reaching its peak in the middle of the nineteenth century. Towards the end of that century shipbuilding died out and tourism gradually filled the void.

Initially, New Quay was just a cluster of thatched houses on and above the beach at Tangeulan and Penguelan (Glanmor Terrace). Although there is no record of who lived there at that time, they were almost certainly fishermen using the relatively sheltered cove to bring in their boats and build their houses. The land upon which New Quay now stands was part of the three farms of Penwig, Neuadd and Penrhiwpistiyll. There is mention in a Royal Commission appointed to suppress piracy of 1566, that most boats in Cardiganshire at the time were small fishing boats of 4 or 5 tons.

In the eighteenth century, smuggling was a viable alternative to agriculture on this part of the coast. The first recorded vessel built at New Quay was the 24 ton sloop 'Thomas and Mary' which was launched in 1779. Between 1800 and 1820, 31 ships were built at Newquay, most of which were sloops.

New Quay was becoming more popular as a port at the start of the nineteenth century, there being an increase in tonnage shipped from 500 to 3,500 tons between 1823 and 1833. It became evident that the harbour needed to be increased in size by the addition of a new pier. The old pier, called Penpolion was just a haphazard assembly of poles driven into the sand with loose boulders. It protected a small area below the present lifeboat station and the Sandy Slip. Today Penpolion is a concrete pier.

The pier was built with stone from a quarry which can now be seen above 'New Quay Fresh and Frozen Foods' at the end of Rock Street. A railway was built to carry the stones from the quarry to the end of the pier. The track of this railway is now reflected in the name given to Rock Street.

By 1851, New Quay had a population of 1236 which included 8 Blacksmiths, 6 Masons, 3 Weavers, 9 shoemakers, 1 painter and 1 doctor. There were very few family names in New Quay at this time with three names making up more than half the population. These were Davies (68 Heads of household), Evans (50), and Jones (46). Most of the others were Thomas, Williams and Phillips.

At this time, the majority of houses in New Quay were built of clom with thatched roofs. Often twisted ropes were used under the thatch reflecting the maritime tradition of the area. Such a 'Bwthyn Clom' had walls which may have been stone up to breast height, but which were topped with clom (cob in England). Clom is a mixture of straw, sand, clay and water which may have included cow manure, horse hair and sheep's wool.

By 1848 shipbuilding had become a major industry in New Quay and in this year it is recorded that there were 10 vessels on the stocks at one time that required the skills of some three hundred workmen. They were summoned to work each morning by a bell hung from the branch of a big chestnut tree.

In the next decade there were fewer launches, but a study of registration details shows that they were larger. One of the largest was the 301 ton 'Lettice Catherine' built at Traethgwyn in 1859. The range of boats built included schooners, sloops, smacks, brigantines and brigs. The shipbuilding industry had grown not only in size, but in complexity with a host of other tradesmen in and around New Quay providing specialist services.

There were a number of Blacksmiths, the largest of which was on the site of the present New Quay hotel, Sail makers, Rope makers and a foundry. There were three rope-walks, one behind Water Street, another behind Park Street and one on Lewis Terrace. There were also a number of schools in the area specialising in navigation and trigonometry.

Despite the success of the shipbuilding industry in New Quay, new technology was advancing and changing transportation needs would soon bring about the end of both shipbuilding and lime making in the area. In 1864, Aberystwyth linked to Shrewsbury by rail. In 1886, Cardigan was linked to Great Western Railways and the Aberystwyth, Lampeter and Carmarthen line came in 1867.

Visitors had been coming to New Quay in small numbers aboard steamers from Liverpool and Bristol. However, the increased ease of transportation by land into the area, brought about the next phase of New Quay's development. Lodging houses started to appear in New Quay and visitors wrote glowingly of its benefits. One visitor wrote in the 'Christian World' of 1885: '...a little town, white in the bright sunshine, built along the steep sides of a shimmering Bay... this little town was the quaintest most picturesque one could wish to see...' The first printed Guide book to New Quay was :'Being a short description of New Quay as a watering Place,' printed in Lampeter by the Welsh Press in 1885.

Horse-drawn buses brought visitors from the stations at Aberystwyth and Llandysul in the 1890s. It is noted that by 1895 New Quay had some 10,000 visitors in the year. The greatest change in recent years has been the immense growth of the caravan industry in the areas around New Quay, along the coast towards Gilfachreda and along the Llandysul Road at Cross Inn. Today, New Quay is a thriving holiday resort at Easter and in the summer months. Off season however, it remains a haven of tranquility."

Article written by Rod Attrill